1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a sphere structure; in particular, to a sphere structure for accommodating a light source such that light from the light source can pass through the surface of the sphere structure and be emitted to the outside environment.
2. Description of Related Art
Many sports use balls. Baseball, for example, is a popular sport in Asia and America. Playing catch is a fun exercise and particularly suitable for brothers, father and son, and friends. However, on weekdays, people usually work or go to school during the day, and only have free time during the evening or at night. Moreover, daytime can be unbearably hot, making playing catch during the evening an even more desirable activity.
However, not all places have sufficient lighting for people to play catch. A baseball is harder than a basketball or volleyball, and travels faster in air. Therefore, under insufficient lighting, playing catch can lead to accidents and injury. Additionally, a baseball is smaller and therefore harder to find when fumbled or failed to be caught in environments of insufficient lighting. Insufficient lighting is a not a problem which can be easily solved by the public. Other than formal competitions, electric power necessary to operate lighting equipment is very costly.
Light-emitting balls exist for people to use in environments of insufficient lighting. These balls are mostly coated with fluorescent material or mounted with fluorescent units which emit light for people to recognize. However, fluorescent material provides weak lighting and takes time for human eyes to identify, and is therefore not an ideal solution for playing catch in the dark. Moreover, fluorescent material coated on the surface of a ball is often smeared on hands, and is harmful to human health. If fluorescent units are mounted on a ball, the structure, material, weight and other specifications of the ball must be modified accordingly to accommodate the fluorescent units. For example, the surface of the ball must be transparent to allow light to pass through, or the fluorescent units must be part of the surface of the ball. These adjustments greatly alter the characteristics of the ball, limiting the ball to being a toy and not a ball for proper practice.
Hence, the present inventor believes the above mentioned disadvantages can be overcome, and through devoted research combined with application of theory, finally proposes the present disclosure which has a reasonable design and effectively improves upon the above mentioned disadvantages.